


Shift to Me

by fronchfry



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Bullying, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Tsukishima Kei, Sad Yamaguchi Tadashi, Slow Build, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Tsukkiyama-Centric, Yamaguchi Tadashi's Freckles, they are children at first, yamaguchi likes the bee movie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28132692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fronchfry/pseuds/fronchfry
Summary: Tsukishima Kei thought that all he needed was his dæmon. If he had half of his soul to interact with, why would he ever need to talk to the annoying (and for whatever reason sticky) children in his class? Kei only needed three people in his life: himself, his brother, and his dæmon.Yamaguchi Tadashi thought that all he needed was a friend. Sure, he had the other half of his soul to interact with, but technically that’s only a few degrees off from talking to yourself. Kynaras was really all Tadashi had in his life, and while they were close, he still yearned for some sense of human connection.Kei finds a boy on a playground with a dæmon that seems to shift every few minutes. Why is Tsukishima drawn to this boy, and why does he make things so easy?A Haikyuu!! daemon AU
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first story, long time Haikyuu fan though. Here are a few things to know about daemons if you are new to the concept:
> 
> Daemons are essentially part of a human's soul, but physically manifested. They typically take on the form of animals. The daemons are tethered to that person, and often cannot leave their counterpart's side for long distances without pain to both parties.
> 
> As children, daemons are able to change their forms into nearly any animal (big animals like elephants are typically impossible though), and will do so based on whim or mood of the daemon.
> 
> As a child grows up, daemons undergo a settling, where they change into their final form, an animal that best resembles their person's character. Both the person and the daemon can feel the instant at which they settle. 
> 
> Daemons can talk and understand human speech just like humans can. They can play and touch their human counter parts and other peoples' daemons. However, it is considered taboo for someone to touch another's daemon. 
> 
> Aaaand finally, daemons are almost always the opposite sex of the human, except for some very rare cases. 
> 
> All daemon lore/credit goes to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy :)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it, let me know if you have any suggestions/feedback!

Tsukishima Kei thought that all he needed was his dæmon. If he had half of his soul to interact with, why did he need to talk to the annoying (and for whatever reason sticky) children in his class. Kei only needed three people in his life: himself, his brother, and his dæmon.

When he was younger, Kei’s brother Akiteru had given him a book full of animals as a birthday present. Kei scoured every page, committing the names and characteristics of each animal to memory. His dæmon Lunfoce would try to shift into each animal to make them come alive. Larger animals were, of course, impossible by any standards, but the two worked until Kei could name the smaller ones and Lunfoce could shift into them. Akiteru told him it was “super cool”, and Kei couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.

In school Lunfoce liked to mimic other dæmons, typically to get a rise out of Kei’s classmates. They didn’t always understand Kei, like why he wanted to sit inside during recess or why he rode by himself on the bus. He was too quiet, too different. Kei was tall enough where classmates were too scared to try to fight him head on, but that didn’t stop the whispers and snide remarks. Some kids tried to make fun of him, and others tried to befriend him, certain that he would change. Kei was uninterested in any offer, and often stayed silent while Lunfoce mimicked their dæmons, making snarky comments that drove them away quickly. People learned soon after not to mess with Kei or Lunfoce, and most stayed out of his way.

Akiteru’s dæmon, however, was Lunfoce’s favorite to imitate. Coming home from volleyball practice, Akiteru and his settled dæmon Elsie, a fruit bat, were always welcomed with a curious Kei and a squeaking welcome from Lunfoce. While the two dæmons played, Kei would ask about the volleyball team and listen with awe as his older brother spoke of Karasuno and their most recent game. 

Elsie always got the best view, Akiteru would explain. She could hang at the top of the gym and see the best of his spikes during the games. If Elsie’s flight pattern deviated slightly at that, Kei paid no mind. His brother was Karasuno’s ace, and while Kei had just joined the youth team, he knew he would do anything to be just like his brother. Maybe Lunfoce would settle as a bat too, or a bird, so she could see Kei’s games just as well. Kei’s mom had a bird dæmon, so maybe it ran in the family. Kei imagined himself slamming the ball into the other team’s court, Lunfoce soaring above him and Akiteru in the stands cheering him on. What else did he need when Akiteru was proud of him?

Sometimes Kei would beg Elsie for information about his brother’s game, about the tons of spikes he landed. She was always a soft-spoken dæmon, however, and would spare a few vague details before nudging Akiteru towards the dinner table. Kei and Lunfoce would exchange looks before going upstairs to finish homework or listen to music for the night. Some nights, Lunfoce asks Kei when they’ll get to see Akiteru’s games, but Kei shrugs it off. One day they will, when Akiteru says he wants them there.

One day, while heading to the youth team practice, Kei meets Yamaguchi. Or rather, re-meets him. 

Yamaguchi is small, with a dæmon that seems to constantly be shifting forms, like he cannot quite get comfortable no matter what animal he tries. As Yamaguchi stutters through an introduction, Kei is suddenly reminded of the day in the park where they first met.

“Hey idiot, need some cream for those lumps on your face?”

“What kind of guy has a boy dæmon. You’re such a freak, Tadashi.”

“Maybe your dæmon will hold a shape if it practices holding our bags first.”

A thud followed by sniffles is what leads Lunfoce, in jackrabbit form, to the playground, Kei closely behind her. 

“Are you seriously going to cry right now?” A pack of three boys, all with some form of dog dæmon surround a smaller boy who is knocked to the ground. The boy’s dæmon flits between lynx and ferret forms, indecisive about its next action. 

The boy on the ground suddenly locks eyes with Kei, causing the boys and their dæmons to turn and look. One of the dæmons, a Scottish Terrier, growls at Lunfoce, who twitches an ear in annoyance. 

“Whatchya lookin’ at?” the dæmon directs at Kei. In return, Kei scoffs.

“That’s so lame.”

Everyone freezes, and Kei takes satisfaction in knowing that just three words got to all of them. He and Lunfoce turn to walk away when one of the boys, the terrier dæmon close behind, comes running up. The boy tugs at Kei’s backpack, the terrier yiping out some words that Kei could not care less about. Kei smirks before turning and drawing himself to his full height. Lunfoce copies him, siting on her hind legs and making herself almost two feet tall. She stares down at the terrier dæmon, who suddenly feels the need to back up a few steps. 

“What?” Kei challenges. 

Needless to say the bullies don’t last long after that. Kei laughs sharply as they run off, dropping his gaze to check on the kid. He looks close to tears and his dæmon stands protectively in front of him, shifted into a fox for the moment. Both boy and dæmon shake with adrenaline and unshed tears. Kei stops laughing abruptly and turns away, Lunfoce following reluctantly. He doesn’t need to see them cry. The bullies are gone, his job is done. No need to see them again.

Kei is brought back to Yamaguchi’s stammering and prepares to turn this boy away, to tell him that it was nothing and to leave him alone. However, Yamaguchi’s dæmon does something interesting. He shifts into the form Lunfoce took that day in the park, a White-Tailed Jackrabbit, and holds the form for longer than Kei has seen the dæmon do before. 

“We like your shoes,” the dæmon says. “Yamaguchi only has the school-issued ones.” Kei, caught off-guard by the male dæmon’s lower voice, startles and looks down at his feet as though seeing his shoes for the first time. 

“They’re my big brother’s shoes,” he manages. "I’m just wearing them until my new ones come in next week.”

“Akiteru is the Ace of Karasuno, a powerhouse school,” Lunfoce supplies, saving him from embarrassing himself further. She’s perched on Kei’s shoulder as an American Robin. 

Yamaguchi suddenly lights up. His dæmon shifts into a hummingbird, fliting around while his counterpart showers Kei with questions and compliments about Akiteru. Kei is blinded for a moment, and unwittingly blushes. Lunfoce sinks into his hair, preening happily. Who was this kid, and why was Kei so drawn to him?

“I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi and this is Kynaras,” Yamaguchi says when he finally settles down. “We want to join a sport, but baseball and soccer have a lot of big, scary guys.” 

Kei catches the implication. “Those guys sound lame,” he scoffs, turning around and walking toward the volleyball court. Behind him, he hears the telltale scuff of shoes on the hardwood floor. Much later Lunfoce will tell him about the beaming smile Yamaguchi gave while following, and Kei will absolutely not think about it as he falls asleep that night.

“What do you think Lunfoce will settle as?” Yamaguchi asks one night over math homework. They have been volleyball teammates for a few months, study partners for a few weeks, and now were…friends? Kei wasn’t stupid, he knew what friends were. He just wasn’t exactly sure what they did. He and Yamaguchi did homework, talked about volleyball, and watched movies together. Yamaguchi came over after school most days now, and they walked to school every morning. It actually surprised Kei how much he tolerated Yamaguchi’s presence. It had been him, Lunfoce, and sometimes Akiteru for so long, that the presence of another person sliding into his life should have been a significant change to adapt to. However, things were easy, and nothing really changed, except now Yamaguchi was there, usually chattering about some show or book he had read. 

Even Yamaguchi’s dæmon Kynaras got along exceptionally well with Lunfoce. Kei showed Yamaguchi the book of animals that Akiteru had given him, and they tried to name the animals that Kynaras turned into every few minutes. Lunfoce was fascinated at the rate Kynaras could shift, usually shifting too often tired her out. The two worked together sometimes, Kynaras attempting to hold a form for as long as possible, and Lunfoce shifting as much as she could. This usually ended in the two falling asleep at the end of Kei’s bed, close but never quite touching. They were doing so now, Lunfoce curled up as a tabby cat, and Kynaras as a tanuki, the newest animal they had researched together.

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi brought his attention back with that new, dumb nickname he insisted on using. Kei tolerated it.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sorry, Tsukki,” he chirped unapologetically. “Some kids in our class already have settled dæmons, what do you think Lunfoce will choose?”

“Maybe you should ask her.”

“Luna’s asleep, so I’m asking you.”

“Don’t call her that,” Kei rolled his eyes. 

“She told me she likes it. Both your names are the moon!” Yamaguchi smiles in a way that makes Kei’s heart stutter for a second. Did friends always feel this way? Kei scowls and looks away, at the two dæmons sleeping at the foot of the bed. Lunfoce opens an eye at him lazily before closing it again. Traitor.

“Like what if she turns into a clown fish, and you have to keep her around in a bowl for the rest of your life?” Yamaguchi goes on, unbothered. “Or like what if she turns into a bee and some frog dæmon tries to ear. Or what if—”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.” Both of them are quiet for a minute, and Kei sighs, giving in.

“Well Elsie is a bat, and my mom’s dæmon is a canary, so she’ll probably settle as a bird or something. We have a few years before we have to worry about that though.”

“Oh yeah, Akiteru’s dæmon is awesome! You really think Lunfoce will be a bird? She doesn’t seem to like to fly too often.”

“Flying is energetically expensive, of course she won’t want to fly all the time. Do you like to run everywhere you go?”

Yamaguchi giggles. Giggles, like Kei said something funny instead of practically insulting him. “What?” Kei asks with a little venom. 

“I just—” Yamaguchi stops himself. “You sound like the bee from the Bee Movie. Now we have to watch it. It might inspire you.”

“What is it, some kind of documentary? We have math homework Yamaguchi.”

“Yeah but it’s not due for another few days. Come on, I think you’ll love it.”

That’s how Kei and Yamaguchi end up on Kei’s bed, his mom’s laptop open and playing some movie that Kei refuses to believe is real. The bee is a lawyer for the love of—

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asks, sitting next to Kei and staring ahead. He looks pensive, almost sad.

“Yes?”

“What do you think Kynaras will settle as?”

Kei stops for a moment to think. This seems important for some reason, like he needs a good answer for Yamaguchi. Kynaras is already an outlier, being a male dæmon, and even after knowing Yamaguchi for a while, the dæmon won’t stay in any form for too long. Its unusual, and any research Kei tries to find on either anomaly doesn’t bring up any helpful results. Not that any of this matters to Kei, he knows that both Yamaguchi and Kynaras are the only two that Kei has been able to tolerate for longer than an hour, and what more did he need than that. Yamaguchi could sprout flowers out of every single one of his freckles, and Kei would still be here, watching some stupid movie with him. Not that he would tell anyone these thoughts. Ever.

A light sniffle brings him out of his thoughts. Yamaguchi still stares straight ahead, but a few tears are making their way down his face. Kei tracks each drop as they move down his face, and he finds himself reaching out to brush one off the freckles on Yamaguchi’s cheek. 

Yamaguchi finally turns to look at him, and wow, Kei is unprepared to deal with all the tears in those eyes. Kynaras sits up and walks toward Yamaguchi, shifting into some kind of long-haired cat and settling into his lap. Yamaguchi’s hand finds his fur and starts to pet absentmindedly. 

“Do you think we’re freaks?” Kynaras asks, voice deep.

Kei reaches an arm to awkwardly place around Yamaguchi’s shoulders, careful to not touch Kynaras by accident. 

“No,” he says simply. He immediately regrets it, too small of a gesture. He doesn’t know what else to say, though. Kei searches for words, any words, while Yamaguchi searches his face, looking for something.

Yamaguchi’s face suddenly clears and a small smile breaks onto his face. Kei freaks out a little because what is that supposed to mean. Maybe he should ask Akiteru later. He definitely won’t, but right now he’s kind of desperate.

Before any other panicked thoughts can come to him, Yamaguchi turns back to the movie and settles down, Kei’s arm still around him. Kynaras shifts into a dormouse and moves back down to the foot of the bed next to Lunfoce. Yamaguchi laughs at something that happens in the movie, and Kei is struck by the sound of it. He also turns back to the movie, but can’t get back into it. He just thinks about Yamaguchi.

And if either of them notice Kynaras climbing on top of Lunfoce and nestling into her fur, neither of them say anything about it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm back! Couldn't get this story out of my head and so I wrote it all today and here it is! I think this might be a continuing series?? Let me know what you think, you all are so kind. Thanks and enjoy!!

Yamaguchi and Kynaras settle into Kei’s life so easily that it scares him if he thinks about it too much sometimes. The boy and his dæmon hang onto every word Kei or Lunfoce say, always following behind with some insufferable nickname. Yamaguchi doesn’t mind that Kei spends some days in total silence, Lunfoce talking for him if answers are required. Sometimes Yamaguchi fills the silence with absurd stories, and sometimes he stays a silent but comfortable weight next to Kei, slightly brushing their shoulders together now and again. 

Now that’s something that scares Kei just as much, not just how touchy Yamaguchi is sometimes, but how okay with it Kei is. Since the two had that movie night where Kei put his arm around Yamaguchi, the boy had taken that as a cue to be touching Kei in some way as often as possible. A light touch on his arm to ask about a question on homework, a brush of their legs under the table or while sitting on the couch, a pat on the back after a good serve in volleyball club. It’s too much and not enough all at the same time. Kei wants to recoil from each point of contact but also wants to lean into it, to take more from Yamaguchi. 

Even if the two humans aren’t touching, their dæmons almost always are, in some way. That definitely seems concerning to Kei, because Lunfoce has never been a touchy dæmon. She actively avoids touching others, with the exception of Elsie, Akiteru’s dæmon. But when Kei and Yamaguchi hang out, she and Kynaras almost always end up curling around each other, or play-wrestling until the two fall into a pile. Kei has asked her about this countless times, but Lunfoce just shrugs and says, “he’s different”.

Akiteru has proven to not be much help either. He had just ruffled Kei’s hair and laughed when he told him about this predicament, which did nothing to abet Kei’s concerns. All Kei could think about is what it would feel like if Yamaguchi ruffled his hair.

But then everything changes. And it feels like a change that has been coming on for a while, but it happens so fast it leaves Kei gasping for air. 

It starts one night when Akiteru, now in his third year at Karasuno, comes home after a game to Kei, who had his own club practice game that day. The two brothers sit outside on the back porch steps, Elsie and Lunfoce playing some sort of flying tag. Kei talks about his practice game, excitement leaking into his voice with every play he recalls. 

“And then Yamaguchi spiked the ball, but that dumb libero with the bad breath dug it back up. And then that one with the bowl cut tried to spike it back, so I blocked it,” Kei smirks. “None of the kids are as tall as me yet so it’s easy, you should have seen their faces!”

Akiteru nods back with a smile, but Kei can sense that something else is going on with his older brother. “How did your game go, Akiteru? Your season is almost done, right?”

Elsie comes back down and lands on Akiteru’s shoulder. “We played Date Tech today, the Iron Wall,” the fruit bat says, giving a small yawn.  
Akiteru chuckles, but it sounds strained. “Yeah, they’re a really tough opponent. They have some of the strongest blockers I’ve ever seen. Maybe you can go there someday for high school, I’m sure they’d take you on with that height of yours. You might end up taller than me someday.” He gets up to walk back into the house, Kei following close after.

“No way, Yamaguchi and I are going to Karasuno, just like you!”

When Akiteru stops in his tracks, Kei does too. He looks at his brother’s back confusedly. Lunfoce gives Kei a look that he can feel without the dæmon in his line of sight. There’s something there. Akiteru turns around suddenly and gives Kei the widest grin he’s ever seen on his brother’s face. Genuine, but with a trace of something Kei can’t quite understand. He hates not being able to understand.

“So you’re going to make your big brother proud at Karasuno, huh? You better try your best then, Karasuno is the best school, and only the best get to play!” Akiteru grabs Kei’s shoulder and pats his back. Kei smiles back, but it feels wrong. He opens his mouth to say something, anything, but their mom calls them in for dinner, breaking whatever moment they had. 

Later at night, Lunfoce sits on Kei’s chest before they fall asleep. She’s a white-tailed jackrabbit now, a form she’s been assuming more and more often since they’ve been hanging out with Yamaguchi and Kynaras. It makes Kei feel vulnerable and proud at the same time, a shifting weight deep in his chest. Or that could just be his dæmon sitting on him.

“What do you want,” he grumbles. “We have school in the morning.”

“Why,” she begins, “have we never been to a single one of Karasuno’s games?”

“You know why.”

“All I know is he says that we’ll ‘make him nervous’ or ‘throw him off’. Do you really believe that? Akiteru’s been playing for years now, there’s no way we would make him freak out.”

“I mean—”

“And what was that today with the look and the stopping and the smiling? I know you thought that was weird too.”

“Well I—”

“And Elsie was off too, I know that you can’t tell but I can read her bat face better and she was totally—”

“Lunfoce!” She stops mid-rant and fixes him with a sharp look. Kei sighs, “We’ll go to the next one, promise.”

“With Yamaguchi?” she asks, smirking.

“If he wants to come,” Kei mutters. He turns onto his side and Lunfoce falls rather ungracefully onto the pillow. Unnerved, she curls close to his chest, satisfied for the moment.

“He will,” is the last thing Kei hears before he drifts off to sleep. 

The next day, Kei finds Yamaguchi during the lunch period. The boy is sitting at his desk, watching as Kynaras, a small spotted gecko, walks from corner to corner. While Kynaras has gotten better at holding his forms, he still shifts at random, still unable to pick one that he feels comfortable in. 

“Yamaguchi.” Kei calls. The boy looks up, and Kynaras startles slightly into a chipmunk, skittering up Yamaguchi’s arm. Lunfoce brightens at the sight of them.

“We’re going to the Karasuno match tomorrow,” she says, “Do you want to come? Akiteru says he’ll get nervous if we go, but it’s our last chance to see them play in the prefecture.”

As predicted, Yamaguchi lights up and a blush touches the freckles on his cheeks. “Sure! I haven’t seen a Karasuno game yet, sounds great!”

“Tsukishima, your brother plays for Karasuno? Mine does too!” Someone from Yamaguchi’s class approaches. His dæmon is a seagull, loud and annoying like this student is about to be. “What position does he play?”

Kei straightens up slightly. “He’s a wing spiker.”

“Hey!” the boy yells, too loudly. Seagull dæmon is too accurate. “Same here! But they have way too many people on the roster, it must suck to go there. No way you get to play with all that talent on the team. Karasuno is such a powerhouse, it might not even be worth going to, don’t you think?”

Yamaguchi, who has been caught in the middle listening the whole time, perks up. “But Tsukki’s brother does play in the matches.” Kei barely has time to cringe at the use of his nickname in front of a classmate before the student (really, who is this guy?) scrunches his face.

“No way” he says.

The seagull dæmon decides to make herself known. “Yeah,” she says in a nasal tone, “we just went to a Karasuno match, and there was no Tsukishima on the roster to play.”

Annoying human-dæmon duo aside, their words shake Kei to his core. He pushes the feeling aside for now and steps forward. Lunfoce does the same, shifting into the comforting jackrabbit form. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kei says. “He tells us about his matches all the time. You have to be mistaken.”  
The boy huffs. “Well let’s go to a game then and see.”

Lunfoce draws herself up. “Yeah, we’ll see,” she says defiantly.

Kei looks. He looks and he looks and his eyes dart from person to person on the team. He scans the starters, the ones waiting on the sidelines, searching for a tall figure with blond hair, or a rush of bat wings near the ceiling. His knuckles tighten against the railing, his breathing growing heavy. They can see everyone on the Karasuno team from up here, so where is he? Where is Akiteru? Where is Elsie, flying high and watching for spikes? Where, where, where?

Kei can hear the awed voices of some volleyball players, but they’re distant, so far away that he can’t make out any of the words. Seagull boy shouts some things too, but none of it matters. Yamaguchi can handle it. The only thing Kei can focus on is finding his brother. Maybe Akiteru is sick? He had to leave early from the game, that’s why. Or he got injured, diving for a spike. Kei looks around, frantically, he has to be somewhere. Suddenly, Lunfoce whispers, “there”.

Kei looks straight ahead and his heart stops. There. In the stands. Akiteru. Elsie sits on his shoulder as he cheers on the team. The team that he is not a regular on. The team that he lied about being the Ace of. Instead of his brother, the “Tiny Giant” stands. None of it was real. 

Kei feels a shift. Maybe it is him, maybe its Lunfoce, but all of a sudden walls that Kei can’t remember building come crashing down. “That’s so lame,” he says, an echo, a shell of who he once was. He can’t stop staring. He’s drifting, losing himself with every moment that he stares into his brother’s eyes from across the court. 

Suddenly, Yamaguchi cuts through the fog. He grabs his hand, pulling Kei away. 

“Come on, Tsukki, Luna,” he says. Kei tears his gaze away from Akiteru and focuses on Yamaguchi’s hand in his. That’s all that mattered now. 

The next thing Kei knows is that him and Yamaguchi are outside, underneath a tree. Their hands are still entwined, and Yamaguchi is talking about the stars.

“And that one is Cygnus, the swan. Remember when Kynaras turned into a swan that one time? He almost bit that kid in the park, and you laughed. I was mad at the time but now it seems kind of funny, right? And that one is Lyra, one of the brightest stars in the sky.”

“Yamaguchi?” Kei asks, his voice shakier than he’s ever heard it.

“Yeah, Tsukki?”

“Thank you,” he says, and rests his head on Yamaguchi’s shoulder. For now, this works. He doesn’t need to think about volleyball or his brother or the future. In the morning he can find a name for these emotions, he can see where the walls came from and how long they’ll stay. He will process in the morning. For this moment, he just needs Yamaguchi and that’s enough.

He starts drifting to the sound of Yamaguchi’s voice when he feels something slide into place, something that he didn’t know was missing. His looks to Lunfoce, who fixes him with a level gaze. She is a white-tailed jackrabbit, and both of them understand.

“Yamaguchi,” Kei interrupts, just this one last time.

“Tsukki?”

“Lunfoce just settled.”

“That’s incredible, Tsukki. I’m so proud of you and Luna,” he squeezes Kei's hand. After a beat of silence, Yamaguchi says, “Tsukki, do you remember that time on the playground?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m glad we met.”

Tsukki doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to. Yamaguchi makes things easy. Kynaras shifts into a jackrabbit, mimicking Lunfoce as he curls next to her. Kei rests his head on Yamaguchi, holding his hand listening to him talk about nothing. Everything and nothing matters, and Kei is okay for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Tsukki is a little OOC, writing him before Akiteru's game is a little harder, and writing him immediately after the game was a little difficult for me too. I think next chapter I'll skip to high school, and we can meet Karasuno and their daemons?? I've kind of thought this out already so I'm excited. Let me know what you think!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the moment you've been waiting for, we get a Yamaguchi POV. Just a warning, there will be a more graphic description of bullying/blood towards the end. It's nothing crazy, but just a heads up. Hope you like it, thanks for sticking with me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember when I said I was going to update every week?? Apparently no one told my schoolwork about that so yikes, my bad on that one. I probably will still be updating pretty irregularly, but I'm doing my best to keep this story going! Hope you like this chapter, its a little longer so I hope that makes up for everything. Thank you so much for reading and the love I've gotten, you guys are the best!

Yamaguchi Tadashi thought that all he needed was a friend. Sure, he had the other half of his soul to interact with, but technically that’s only a few degrees off from talking to yourself. Kynaras was really all Tadashi had in his life, and while they were close, he still yearned for some sense of human connection.

Ever since he was old enough to talk, Tadashi can remember the stares. The concerned and pitying glances that his parents would get, the blatant stares from his teachers every time Kynaras spoke. For a time, the two of them stopped speaking all together. That was when Tadashi’s mom sat the two of them down in his bedroom for a talk. 

“Tadashi, honey,” she said, her eyes kind. “Do you remember when we talked about your freckles?”

Tadashi nodded. Last year he had come home from school crying because some kids had smeared dirt on his face to, “help him cover up the mosquito bites on his face”. Tadashi’s mother, who had the same splattering of freckles on her cheek as her son, had caressed his cheek and given him perhaps the best hug of his life.

“Well, baby,” she wraps her arm around Tadashi, her red fox dæmon cuddling close. “Sometimes, people are afraid of things they don’t understand. Kynaras is…a rare kind of dæmon, and that sometimes makes people nervous. But like how your freckles are rare, that doesn’t make them any less beautiful.”

Tadashi nods along, but he doesn’t think his mom understands. Both her and Tadashi’s father have kept him at an arm’s length away for a while, and Tadashi can’t help but feel as though they’re miles away. His mom gives him a hug before leaving the room, and Tadashi lays down on his bed with a sigh. He feels so lonely and isolated, the only comforting weight is Kynaras on his chest. 

“Things will get better,” Kynaras says. He’s a hedgehog today, all spikes with a soft underbelly slowly warming up Tadashi’s body.

“At least you’re stuck with me.” Tadashi sighs. “What a pair, huh?”

“I’m the better half.”

“You wish. We’re equally the worst and you know it. No one wants to talk to me usually, then you open your big mouth and not even adults talk to us.”

“I’m at least cuter,” Kynaras says, “and rare. You heard your mom.”

Tadashi sighs. He raises his head to look Kynaras in the eye. “Are you sure things will get better?”

“Well, I don’t think they could get any worse.”

Things get worse. The bullies just get braver as he gets older. They corner him after school, forcing Tadashi to the ground and threatening to send him and Kynaras to the hospital. It’s a good day when Tadashi only walks away with light bruises, and the worst day when he comes home with a fractured collarbone. Tadashi starts to flinch at sudden movements, and Kynaras barely speaks. He slowly loses the ability to hold onto a form for longer than a few minutes at a time. Tadashi’s parents grow more and more distant, and soon the boy and his dæmon have never felt more alone. 

Then, twin beams of light in the darkness. Tsukki and Luna enter into their lives.

At first, Tadashi sticks with Tsukki for protection. The blond is tall and scary, which keeps the bullies out of focus. At the same time, Tsukki tolerates Tadashi’s presence, doesn’t’ ask questions, and above all doesn’t mind the fact that he and Kynaras are, well, different. So he becomes Tsukki’s shadow, doing whatever he can to make sure he isn’t abandoned. 

But one day, the two of them are talking during lunch, and things change. Well, Tsukki is listening to Tadashi ramble about their latest volleyball match, even though Tsukki had been a starter on the team for weeks now. Tadashi looks over at Tsukki, who is looking down at his food and pushing it around. Tadashi is like 88% sure he’s not listening to the conversation, which prompts him to throw in a little gossip that he doubts Tsukki will listen to, let alone care about. 

“So that kid on our team, Souta, just came back with the worst haircut ever. I mean who chooses to get a bowl cut. He actually went to the shop and asked to get a bowl cut, then came up to me after practice and told me that I would never have as much swag as him. Like what does that even mean? It’s not a good haircut, it won’t make up for the fact you have the personality of a brick.”

Tsukki’s head whips up in surprise before the boy bursts out laughing. Other students in the class turn to look at the two of them, eyes wide and jaws dropping because wow did that kid just make Tsukishima laugh? Tadashi stares openly in shock as he feels a rush of pride and happiness, something he hasn’t felt in a long time. He wants to hold onto that feeling, to keep making his friend laugh. Because they’re friends. Tadashi has a friend.

Tadashi realizes he’s way out of his depth on this whole friend thing. This quick evolution into friends who joke about other people and also now hang out after school and practice is everything Tadashi has ever wanted, but he’s scared that he’ll mess it up. Kynaras says that he’s probably Tsukki’s first friend too, and honestly that might be the case. It makes things a lot easier, and the two fall into a comfortable rhythm. Sure, Tadashi’s parents still blatantly ignore him and he still can hear whispered insults down the hall, but him and Kynaras aren’t alone anymore. Kynaras even starts holding more solid forms with Luna’s help. Things are good. But when have things ever stayed good for Yamaguchi Tadashi?

Akiteru’s game happens, and the comfortable tie that Tadashi has with Tsukki severs. Tadashi is mad at Akiteru, angrier than he has ever been at someone, but on some small, microscopic level, he understands. Tsukki is kind and bright and caring in the ways that only those closest to him would know. He deserves the best, and Tadashi would be terrified to ever let him down. So he gets where Akiteru is coming from, he really does. But when Tsukki starts pulling away, there isn’t anyone else to blame.

It starts off small. After That Night, Tsukki stops inviting him over after practice and school, only saying yes if Tadashi asks. Soon, even asking gets a no from the boy. Walking to school together is a rarity, as Tadashi is chronically late and Tsukki has stopped waiting for him at their usual street corner. If Tsukki was quiet during their conversations before, he is completely silent, leaving Luna to give small answers to Tadashi’s questions. Tadashi does not know what to do, and that makes things worse. Nothing he does to cheer the boy up works, and there is a growing tension between them, like the air before a storm. Kynaras, ever the voice of reason, warns him to stop trying to prevent the storm but prepare for it. Tadashi just wants his friend back.

It finally, finally happens two months, thirteen days, and 18 hours after Akiteru’s match. Tsukki is packing up his homework to begin his walk home with Tadashi bounds into the classroom. Almost all of the students have left already, but Tsukki always takes his time, Tadashi has noted. 

“Hi Tsukki! Want to walk to practice together?”

Tsukki shrugs. Tadashi takes that as a yes and waits for the taller boy to finish packing his stuff. He starts in on a rant about the newest Pokemon game that just came out because that’s all he can do now with Tsukki, fill the silence.

“But this time instead of just one they let you use—”

“Shut. Up. Yamaguchi,” Tsukki turns sharply. The light joke the two typically share within those words are tarnished by a harsh tone and steely glare in his eyes. 

“Tsukki?”

“Will you just be quiet for two seconds? I can’t even hear myself think with you around. You’re always trailing behind me like a lost puppy, yapping about something no one cares about. Aren’t you tired of it? I know I sure am.”

Tadashi takes a deep breath, steadying himself. He doesn’t mean it. He doesn’t mean it. “Tsukki, please—” he starts but is cut off once again.

“Just stop Yamaguchi. I don’t care. I don’t care, Lunfoce doesn’t care, nobody cares. Even your own parents don’t care. You’re just—”

“Pathetic?” Tadashi sneers. His hands are balled into fists at his sides, and his entire body is shaking. He didn’t want to get mad at Tsukki, but the last comment hit too close. Tsukki had never asked any questions about Tadashi’s parents before, and understood it was A Thing They Did Not Talk About. And now Tsukki had betrayed that, betrayed him.

“Listen Tsukki, you aren’t the first to call me that, and you certainly won’t be the last. Kynaras and I were okay without you, and we’ll be okay now. I know you’re hurting, but it doesn’t mean you can hurt everyone else without thinking it through!”

“I’m sorry, are you still here? I didn’t notice.” Tsukki swings his bag onto his back and marches past Tadashi, knocking his shoulder into the shorter boy and causing Tadashi to stumble backwards. He turns around to see Lunfoce looking back at him before following Tsukki into the hall. 

Left alone, Tadashi has only his outrage and Kynaras to keep him company. Tadashi stomps out of the hallway and goes the opposite direction of Tsukki. Screw it, he’ll skip volleyball practice, no one will even care if he doesn’t show up. Kynaras shifts into a cedar waxwing and flies onto Tadashi’s shoulder in any attempt to comfort the boy. Tadashi keeps walking out of the school building and towards his house, on autopilot as he grumbles about Tsukki.

“Tsukishima,” he mocks to himself. “Kynaras can you believe the audacity on him? I literally see him every day, has he ever told me how bothered he is? No, because I am a delight and the only person who can tolerate him. He knows it, and I give him until tomorrow until he comes running back to—”

“Hey stupid face!” Tadashi wants to scream. Of course, the one day that he isn’t around Tsukishima is the day they decide to come after him. Like he needs some protector. And stupid face? Are they back in elementary school?

“Not now,” Tadashi calls, walking a little faster. His house is still fifteen minutes away, so if he wants to run he should get going. But Tadashi doesn’t want to run. He’s angry enough to do something idiotic, like take on this guy. Volleyball has made him stronger, and he’s willing to bet he has enough fight in him right now to take on someone who uses stupid face as an insult. 

“Tadashi…” Kynaras warns. Its too late. Tadashi whirls around to face the bully, and comes to meet four guys from the basketball team smirking at him. The color drains from Tadashi’s face and Kynaras shifts into a marten, laying protectively around his neck. Three of the guys surround Tadashi, while one of them approaches slowly. His dæmon is a hawk, staring calculatingly at them. 

“What?” the guy starts, “No big tall Tsukishima to save you today?”

“I don’t need him,” Tadashi spits. He needs a cool head to get out of this, he knows, but the fight is so fresh, he can’t help but get worked up again, falling into this guy’s plan. 

Suddenly, the hawk dæmon launches itself at Tadashi. He ducks his head down in response, unconsciously exposing Kynaras to the dæmon. He can feel the hawk’s talons rip into Kynaras, and he cries out in response. Kynaras is able to get out of the dæmon’s grip, and launches himself into Tadashi’s pocket, and Tadashi vows to protect him from any further harm.

“Come on Yamaguchi,” the guy in front of him taunts. “Let us see your dæmon. We just want to play with him a little. Dæmons need some healthy interaction you know.” His smile is wide, menacing. Where was the guy who called him stupid head before? Tadashi might have been able to take him, but with this guy? No way.  
Out of nowhere the guy lunches at Tadashi, reaching for the pocket Kynaras disappeared into. Tadashi twists away and starts running, not even looking where he’s going. Someone grabs his wrist and yanks, causing him to hit the sidewalk, hard. Tadashi staggers to his knees before one of the kids punches him in the face, sending him right back down. Things are blurring, but Tadashi has two objectives: above all to keep Kynaras safe, and then a side quest to make it out of the situation alive. He plants a hand on the sidewalk to get a bearing but its immediately stomped on, causing him to retract his harm and curl into the ground. He is completely surrounded at this point, and while he takes solace that they no longer seem interested in his dæmon, they have moved their focus to him. Their shoes come in hard and fast, kicking Tadashi’s back so when he involuntarily uncurls to protect himself they can kick his ribs. Tadashi can’t breathe and he knows he needs to get out of there soon. The guy who taunted Tadashi from before yanks him up by his school uniform to meet him at eye level. 

“Face it Yamaguchi, you’re nothing.” He gives Tadashi a wide grin. Tadashi knows he shouldn’t, but he needs a small victory today. He smiles back at the guy before spitting into his face. Seeing the disgusting glob roll down the guy’s cheek is almost worth the crunch his nose makes as the guy makes his final punch. Tadashi falls to the ground helplessly as the guy aims one final kick before walking away. “See you later, Yamaguchi,” he calls over his shoulder.

Tadashi’s vision blurs as he stands up. Kynaras, seeing the coast is clear gets out of his pocket. The dæmon has some deep-looking scratches in his side, but otherwise looks relatively unharmed.

“Come on tough guy,” Kynaras says, painfully shifting into a bobtail. “Let’s get you home.”

Tadashi barely remembers the walk home, but he’s glad it went by in a blur. He stumbles through his front door, and is thankful that his parents are almost never home. He limps to the bathroom and turns on the sink. He lifts Kynaras into the tub, both of them wincing in pain. Tadashi turns to grab the cotton swabs from under the sink when he hears a sharp knock at the door. He turns around to Kynaras and gives him a look of pain. 

“Maybe they’ll just go away?” Kynaras asks. Another hard knock at the door seems to stomp on that train of thought. Tadashi sighs and picks Kynaras out of the tub again, starting to head back to the front door. Kynaras reluctantly shifts into a beagle, probably the biggest, scariest thing he could muster. The two slowly make their way to the door while the knocking only increases in frequency. They exchange a look before Tadashi grabs the handle and yanks it open. 

At his front door he finds Tsukishima and Lunfoce. Both look equally nervous, Lunfoce pawing at the ground and Tsukishima rubbing the back of his neck. Tadashi just sighs.

“Tsukishima.”

Tsukishima looks up and his eyes widen almost comically. Tadashi is sure that he looks a mess, a black eye half-dried blood dotting his nose and cheeks. He hurts all over and he’s so, so tired, but he needs to know what Tsukk—ishima is going to say. 

Instead of speaking, Tsukishima launches himself forward, wrapping his arms around Tadashi tight. Tadashi stumbles back and winces, but recovers, eventually snaking his own arms around Tsukishima.

“What happened?”

“First of all, ow,” Tadashi groans, and Tsukishima steps back alarmed. Tadashi gives a small smile. “Second of all, you should see the other guy. Tsukishima wh—”

“Please call me Tsukki, please.” Tadashi’s eyes widen, and Tsukki looks down at his feet. “I prefer when you call me Tsukki. Listen Tadashi I’m sorry. I went to practice and you weren’t there and then you never showed up so I left practice early. I had to make up some excuse and I’m pretty sure coach saw right through me but I had to see you, I had to apologize. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it and I know we talked about—”

It’s Tadashi’s turn to launch himself into Tsukki, giving him his own hug. His ribs protest at the sudden movement, but its worth it to see the small smile he gets from the other boy. “I know, Tsukki. You’re fine, I get it. It doesn’t make what you said okay, but I know why you said it. Now get in here and help me clean up while I think about forgiving you.”

Tsukki walks in and follows Tadashi’s slow pace to the bathroom. The sink is still running, and Tadashi bends down to grab the cotton balls and bandages from the cabinet. Kynaras shifts into a ferret, making it easier for Tadashi to place him on the sink. He wets one of the cotton balls and starts dabbing at one of the spots of blood on his fur. 

“Tadashi, you’re shaking. Here, let me—” Tsukki grabs a small hand towel and wets it lightly. He reaches for Tadashi’s face, likely going to try to get some blood off. Tadashi shakes his head.

“Kynaras first. I have to make sure he’s okay.” Tadashi grabs another cotton ball and brings it back to his dæmon’s side. The two wince simultaneously, and Tadashi’s hand grows shakier.

“Tadashi it’s okay, I’ve got him. I won’t touch him.” Tsukki pulls Tadashi’s hand away. Tsukki covers his hand in the towel and slowly wipes the blood from Kynaras. After a few minutes, he turns to Tadashi. “It looks like the bleeding has stopped, he probably just needs rest at this point,” he reports. Tadashi gives him a weak smile, glad that Kynaras is okay. 

Tsukki turns his attention to Tadashi then, and instructs him to sit on the edge of the bathtub. He grabs a new towel, wets it, and then brings it up to Tadashi’s nose, carefully wiping blood off his face. Tadashi closes his eyes and sighs.

“How are your ribs?”

“Probably bruised, but I’ll survive.” Tadashi takes a deep breath in, and it only stutters slightly on the way out. Tsukki tsks but leaves it at that. They sit in silence for a few minutes more before Tsukki starts again.

“Who did this to you?” 

“It’s fine Tsukki, it won’t happen again.”

“You bet it won’t, you aren’t leaving my side for the rest of forever.”

“Even to go to the bathroom?”

“Even to go to the bathroom. You’re stuck with me and Lunfoce. Get used to it.”

Tadashi chuckles and opens his eyes, almost immediately regretting it. Tsukki is close, just a few inches away from Tadashi’s own face. Tsukki’s nose is scrunched up in concentration, his eyes squinting to make sure he got all the blood off. Tadashi’s mouth twitches upwards and Tsukki looks down at his lips for a split second before gazing upward into Tadashi’s eyes. The two stay for just a moment, and despite the many emotions Tadashi has been through today, he’d probably pick this one to live in forever. Tsukki looks so soft here, even in the bright bathroom light, and Tadashi can’t help himself.

He leans forward and grabs Tsukki in another hug, which the boy returns readily. The two sit in Tadashi’s bathroom, holding onto each other. And if Tadashi feels a little wetness on his shoulder, he doesn’t say anything. Screw his mom, Tadashi thinks, this is the best hug of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it!! Next chapter 100% we get to see the Karasuno Crows and their daemons! Just a reminder, this is a Tsukiyama-focused story so we won't be going too in-depth into everyone's daemons/past, but in future fics I would definitely be into doing something like that if people are interested! Thanks again, see you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking of maybe continuing this, doing some Yamaguchi POV or focusing on Akiteru's lie a the next chapter? Tell me what you think! Thanks!!


End file.
